Valentijn Driessen enjoys Eredivisie standout: 'Everyone is talking about Ruben van Bommel, but you can write him down as well'

Ro-Zangelo Daal has impressed Valentijn Driessen and Mike Verweij this season. According to Driessen, it seems only a matter of time before the 22-year-old AZ winger comes into the picture for the Netherlands national team.

AZ have made an excellent start to the new season. They beat PSV 4-0 at the start of August to win the Johan Cruyff Shield. The Alkmaar side have also been perfect in the VriendenLoterij Eredivisie, with five wins from five.

Verweij said in the Kick-off podcast of De Telegraaf: “What is happening at AZ is really very impressive. It’s not as if they have had a really easy fixture list. Normally, away games at Utrecht and Heerenveen are no formality for any team. So they have already had a relatively difficult programme.”

One of the stand-out players, according to Verweij, is Daal. “Last season you already saw flashes of him. And now he is becoming a very reliable, consistent player. A really very good left winger.”

Driessen agrees. “And he is going to score. He actually did that far too little. Of course, he did not score much, and now he is. You know what is coming, and he still scores. That is very special. Those are the players with extra class.”

He added: “So yes, we keep talking about Ruben van Bommel, but you can put Daal’s name down as well. I don’t know whether he is on Xavi’s radar, but if he keeps showing himself like this, then certainly. He combines it with a very high output. Probably even higher than Van Bommel, and he plays for PSV.”

The AZ academy product has started all six of Alkmaar’s matches this season. In those games, he has recorded five goals and one assist.